The Ruling Class

I wrote Breaking the Ruling Class for the American Spectator last fall, and one of the best comments on the piece was over dinner at the Spectator dinner when a woman commented to me that the article completely changed her view of politics and the parties. Instead of viewing two parties, as most people do, one’s perspective and understanding of how politics and elected officials work makes much more sense.

By Ruling Class, I mean those elected officials, many of them long time incumbents, who serve themselves and their cronies for their own gain, the American people be damned. Case in point: a little nugget from the National Journal today that it so happens that nearly three dozen of our sitting Congressmen pushed $300 million into projects close to their personal homes (can we say increased property value for our dearly beloved leaders?) and that another sixteen pushed money into entities where a close relative or family member sat on the board. Look at some of those mentioned: those guilty of such behavior are not just one party. They are both Republicans and Democrats, many of them having served so long in office that you wonder if they even know why they’re truly there. I’ll give them a hint: to serve the American people. Our elected officials serve themselves, and quite frankly, think we the people serve them.

The harsh reality? Most of what they’re doing is still legal, and most will be re-elected. That’s why if real, fundamental change is to happen, these officials must be primaried again and again and again until they are beaten into retirement. Let’s face it. At the end of the day, most officials are experts in self-preservation. Not to sound too Machiavellian, but the only thing that will get an attitude adjustment from them is fear: fear of losing their power, their perks. Most will only respond to fear, therefore there must be something that makes them more afraid than House leadership or other negative influences. That’s what the grassroots should truly be focused on: breaking the ruling class by creating a machine that primaries and beats those who refuse to understand why they serve. It will be a long, hard process, but it can be done.